Our commercial agency team are marketing a well-known prestigious Grade II–listed Art Deco cinema in Worcester, the former Northwick Cinema, which is a 7,218 sq ft property on Ombersley Road at a guide price of £1,500,000.
One of our senior associates, Lauren Allcoat, who is responsible for the sale, said: “This is a fantastic instruction for Fisher German with the property very much a local landmark.
“We have a vast amount of experience in selling similar properties over the years and are well-placed to sell this incredible building.”
Designed by Charles E Wilford, the building began its life in 1938 as a cinema. The original interior followed plans by the Art Deco interior designer John Alexander and is the only surviving complete and unaltered example of his work, featuring relief plasterwork, 1930’s fittings and countless other decorative features.
The building then closed as a picture house in 1966 and was used as a bingo hall until 1991 before being used as an entertainment centre for five years. The property was then purchased by David and Helen Gray in 2004 who immediately began extensive restoration works to return the building to its former glory.
After 18 months of restoration, the Northwick reopened as Grays of Worcester, furniture and furnishings store, which it has been trading as to date.
We expect that the property will appeal to any large retail company as a flagship store, or developers looking to convert the building, subject to planning permission.
Lauren added: “Buildings like this do not often come on to the market, so this is a rare opportunity to purchase an architecturally significant building which is steeped in history, and we expect it to attract a strong amount of interest.”
Helen Gray said: “It has been a wonderful venue to trade from, showing off our stock beautifully for many years, but it is getting a bit big for us now as David is 70 next year. We will be looking for a shop that is half the size, but we have no doubt we won’t find anywhere as fabulous as the Northwick.”
